Not Like Before
by Eclipse of Thunder
Summary: Makoto gets an unexpected visitor and his message is... that he doesn't feel like he did before. The two bond and something un-describable is born. While Makoto is in denial, the rest of their friends are hurting inside, but they don't know how to deal with the situation. Follow Makoto in her adventure of discovery and hardships. Hope you enjoy! As always, R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Her mouth hung open just barely as she looked at the face of her visitor. He stood there staring her down, as confidant as he always is. He looked down at what she was wearing, clearly she was getting ready to go on a date. She was wearing a form-fitting rose colored dress that came just above her knees. It showed off a little bit of her well-endowed chest, but still left much up to the imagination. Makoto saw movement over his shoulder and saw her date running away, clearly scared of her visitor. Makoto sighed and looked into the grey eyes in front of her. "Kunzite… I really hope you have a good reason for being here." She lightly glared at the man, but he didn't flinch. She sighed and moved aside for the man to come into her house.

She was a 24 year old now, and owned her own flower shop. She still dreamed of opening and owning a restaurant, but she just didn't feel ready yet. She had grown into her body, and unlike when she was in high school, all the guys were now chasing her. More than the other girls, Makoto shone like the Princess she was. Kunzite was a towering man, standing at the same height as Mamoru, which was well above everyone else. Kunzite's hair had grown a little longer since she last seen him, and not to mention his skin had darkened quite a bit. She could see his muscles rippling as he moved about her house, making himself comfortable at a stool by the island in the kitchen.

Makoto makes her way around him and into her pristine kitchen. She starts making a pot of tea for the two of them. As she always does, she starts to hum and sway her hips back and forth as she prepares the cups and warm up two scones. She could feel his eyes burning into the back of her head, impatient to get started with whatever he had come to talk about. She with one last sigh, she turned around to face him eye to eye. "So, what can I do for you Kunzite?"

Kunzite looked up to stare into her emerald eyes. His grey eyes barely showing any emotion, but something was stirring behind it. "Makoto, I came here to talk about the Senshi and the Shintennou getting along better. My King has implored me to be the leader and start the 'healing' process." He looked to her, like she had all the answers for him. She turned her eyes away, unable to take his staring. "Why did you come to me? Minako always understood you best… why not go to her?" She used this awkward moment to remove the steaming tea from the stove and pour it into the cups she had prepared. She also took out her treats from warming up and took a deep breath before looking back at him. It turns out she wasn't the only one who needed time to think, as he looks uncertainly up at her.

"I don't have feelings for her anymore, Makoto." He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in slight frustration. "I see the way she looks at me, with her hopeful eyes, and how my King hopes that things will go back to normal… like in the past." Makoto almost held her breath throughout his words, she did know how much Minako was hoping for Kunzite. "I came to you Makoto, because I thought you would understand me the most… in today's age." He looked deeply into her eyes asking her for something. Makoto's heart started to race in anxiety, she didn't know what to do for him, but she was compelled to console him.

The Shintennou were revived almost a year ago, and the Senshi were not particularly accepting of them in their life though. Many of them were scared to accept them back into their lives, even though they had forgiven them a long time ago for falling into Beryl's hands. The only real time that they spent together was during meetings about Negaverse happenings and the progress of each planet's attempt to revive their own planets. What the Shintennou were doing, was living with their King and learning about the world as it is now. They were smart guys and it didn't take long under Mamoru's guidance for them to get up to date. They all had their own jobs now and they were starting to make a life for themselves.

Makoto took a shaky breath in, she could in fact, understand what he was going through. "I… I don't feel anything for Nephrite either. Haha… it's depressing to say it out loud. The memory of us together… it is so great and vivid, but when I see him now… none of that is there." Makoto sits next to Kunzite, finally relaxing just a bit. "I never thought I would be having a conversation like this with you, Kunzite. Not even back in the Silver Millennium." She smiled to herself at the thought and took a sip of her tea. Kunzite took a sigh of relief, he hadn't really known what to expect of her. He lightly smiled at her and took the final sip of his tea.

They held a leisurely conversation for the majority of the night, never running out of things to talk about. Makoto ended up making dinner for them and she even had the pleasure of hearing Kunzite laugh for the very time. As the night winded down, the two found their time at an end. Makoto stood up and began collecting the dishes when Kunzite stopped her. He gathered the dishes himself and told her to sit down and relax, since he had enjoyed a lovely dinner. Once he had finished washing the dishes for her, much to her delight, she walked him to the door with a smile on her face.

"Kunzite, it was great to speak to you, I think we are definitely on the track to being ok. I mean, if you and me can get along, well… haha!" Her laughed filled the front room of her house. Kunzite lightly smiled at her, "Makoto, it was a pleasure I hope to have again." He opens the door and just stands there, staring outside for a minute. Makoto became confused and opened her mouth to ask if he was ok, when he whirled her around and pressed his lips to hers. Her eyes widened as he attempted to deepen the kiss by massaging the back of her neck with his dominant hand. It was when her knees began to grow weak that she snapped back to reality. She pushed against him, breaking the kiss and then pushed him out of her apartment. She slammed the door shut and then leaned against it, tears streaming down her face. Kunzite softly placed his hands on the other side of the door and hung his head as he heard her soft cries.

Author's Note: Not sure what caused me to write this story… I was reading a fanfic called 'By Default' one of two results you get when your search Makoto and Kunzite. It just made me want to read another story about the two so badly… maybe a happier one. Well… tell me what you think! R&R.


	2. Chapter 2

Makoto looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. She was inspecting every aspect of her look when she heard a groan outside of the door. She sighed exasperatedly. She opened the door and looked at the faces of her two males employees. They looked at her with watery eyes. "Mako-senpai, why are you all dressed up?! Are you going on a picnic with a guy?!" They closed in on her looking for answers. Makoto sighed heavily and pushed past her two employees. "I am not going on a date, if that is what you are so worried about. My friends from high school are all getting together and I want to look good, I haven't seen them in a while." The two males looked much better after the explanation. "Man… I wish I could have some of the food you prepared though, it smells so good!" Mako giggled at the males antics and pulled a small bundle from her picnic basket and handed it to the boys. She winked at them and walked out of the store, she was running just a bit late.

Minako started jumping up and down when she saw Makoto approach the group. She was so excited to see her best friend, and not to mention the relief from the tense group. Makoto smiled at the group as she approached and Usagi's mouth began to water when she noticed that Makoto had brought food. Kunzite stood up and took the basket from her hands, "I thought you were going to let us handle the food Mako-chan?" The tension instantly sky-rocketed when he wasn't formal when saying her name. Makoto got over her shock quickly and smiled at him. "I didn't think it would be a problem if I made some desserts." She took the only open seat, it was between Ami and Kunzite.

The catered food was laid out on the blanket carefully, but the only one who had dug into it was Usagi and Mamoru. The rest of the group looked awkward and out of place. Makoto was looking at each of the faces, unsure of what to do, when her eyes met Kunzite's. She gulped a little, the memories flooding her mind, but she remembered what he had originally came to her for. She gathered all her courage and started to dig into the food. However, that didn't seem to inspire any others to join her. She looked imploringly to Kunzite and he sighed and joined her in eating the food. A small smile graced her face. She had a whole new drive now and she wasn't going to let Usagi and Mamoru down, since they were trying so hard to make things civil.

Once Makoto had finished putting her food on her plate she looked up towards Jadeite. "So… Jadeite I heard you are working towards opening a travel agency for the local area, I would love to hear about your plans." She smiled kindly at the man who was now clearly flabbergasted at her speaking with him. It took him a minute to get his tongue untangled, but he wasn't going to let the opportunity pass him by. "Yes, Makoto-Chan, I am in the middle of approving the blue prints for the design of the building. I could show you over coffee sometime, maybe?" He looked at her, concealing his hope for a new budding friendship. Makoto was pleased that he was opening up to her and smiled with a nod. "That sounds lovely!" The rest of the girls didn't know how to feel about what just happened, however Usagi and Mamoru wore hopefully faces.

The rest of the picnic went on with Makoto and the Shitennou holding conversations about their plans for the future. It was, however, awkward when she and Nephrite would talk. She hoped deep down that he wouldn't get his hopes up for anything more than friendship. When everyone was packing up their things to get back to work or school, Kunzite took Makoto's basket from her and stared down into her bewildered eyes. "Allow me to carry this for you Mako-chan." It wasn't a question and she understood that. She just stared at him, not knowing how to answer the man that towered over her. "Th-that's quite alright Kunzite, I can carry it myself." She tried to get out of the situation, since now all the attention was on her. Kunzite lightly smiled and shook his head no. "Take it as my way of thanking you. Please allow me this much."

Defeated, Makoto waved goodbye to the rest of the group, trying hard not to read into the hurt expressions they were receiving. She sighed heavily when they were out of sight. "Just what do you think you are doing Kunzite? You should have seen the face that Minako and Nephrite were making…" He glanced at her dejected figure walking beside him. "I want to make my intentions clear, Makoto. I do not have any feelings for Minako… and the feelings I have now, for you, are much stronger than the ones I had for her… even then. I am not going to settle this time around."

Makoto stopped in her tracks and looked at his back as it took him a second to notice. Her face began to turn cherry red, but she snapped back to reality really quickly. She began to walk quickly away, but she couldn't even bare that. She sprinted off towards her apartment, not even looking back once. Once she made it in the door she took some deep breathes. She didn't know what she was going to do. The man her best friend was in love with… is in love with her. Makoto covered her face with her hands and took some shaky breaths. 'Well… I may as well put my basket and everything away to clear my mind.' Makoto then smacked her forehead, she left Kunzite holding it. She sighed to herself, resigned to her fate, and began to make herself a cup of tea.

Later that afternoon she woke up to her doorbell ringing. She groaned indignantly and straightened out her clothes as she made her way to the door. She didn't check before opening the door and instantly regretted it.

Author's Notes: Man… I have so much to write . Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this new chapter! Please tell me what you think! :D


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